1,200 Square Feet of Dirty Holiness

Our church is bursting at the seams.  We need more space.  We've come up with two solutions.  First, we are going to two services.  That will free up a lot of seats and parking on Sunday mornings.  Second, we are expanding our Sunday School, our nursery, our Children's and our Youth programs.  To do this, we've looked at knocking out a portion of the Fellowship Hall wall and adding 50 seats.  After all this, we expect to gain around 245 seats for both services combined.

Outside of the services, we decided to raise a large permanent tent on a block of ground that we have behind the church.  We need it primarily for new Sunday School classes that we are starting in order to more intimately minister to and train our church members in settings that match their stage and station in life.  We'll have three, 400 sq. ft. rooms to teach in.  Once that wall is removed, the Children's Church is going to move into the tent.  The Wednesday night King's Kids program will move in right away.

Today, after Bill Lindahl and Mark Peterson left (they are heading up the actual construction of our projects), I walked around the tent. Twelve hundred square feet.  That's how much space we grew by today.  Twelve hundred.

There's a lot of work that went into that tent.  Months of "should we's", months of "we did and it's on the way", months of "now it's too cold to put it up", weeks of planning and buying more supplies, days of drawing and laying out chalk lines...all this went into that tent.  Sometimes it was stressful.  Sometimes we got antsy or annoyed.  Sometimes we felt unsure when that thing would go up.  Sometimes we wondered if anyone would know how to raise it.  Sometimes we wondered if anyone would raise it.  Then suddenly, in 54 minutes and 20 seconds, the tent rolled out of the box and into the air...and it was up.

As I walked around, I saw a little home plate spray painted on the asphalt.  I thought, "this ground will never be a wiffle ball playground again."  I looked at the big oil stain on the back side and thought, "this will never be a bus parking

spot again." 

This 1200 sq. ft. was suddenly holy.  It wasn't perfect, but it was holy.  This morning it was asphalt that needed a new seal coat.  Tonight, it's a 1200 sq. ft. area sancified for the teaching and preaching of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.   There's no need to bicker over cost, time, work effort, waiting.  We just took a 1200 sq. ft. piece of dirt and made it one of the most holy places in all of Lockport.  What could ever happen on that lot more important than what we are about to do on Sunday mornings?

Ever see one of those tricks where a person wagers that he can get another person to do something specific, but he already has it set up so that he knows it will happen?  I view the tent that way.  Man didn't raise that tent.  God did.  Two thousand years ago God sent His Son to make Salvation possible.  Today, God raised a tent so that people hear about it.  Yea, but a bunch of men raised it.  At the end of the day, flesh or not, God made sure there was a place to have his Word taught.

Three thoughts went through my mind tonight.  Since this is technically a blog where I communicate with the parents of my teens, I'll apply them to our relationships.

1.  God can take weakness and make greatness.

Romans 8:11

But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.

God, when we give ourselves to Him, connects with that new creature He created inside of us, and takes over even the dead unsaved carnal flesh that is bound for the grave and uses it to make something great for Him.  I watched Bill Lindahl; not the spirit of Bill Lindahl, but the flesh of Bill Lindahl; raise a tent sanctified for God's work.  Our broken weak vessels God can take over and produce something physically visually good "that we may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God." As parents, we can give US to God and watch Him physically create something good in our children.  We often focus on the "do" more than the "surrender".  We can teach our children to do the same.  Look kids, look what God creates when you give yourself to Him.

2.  It is always worth it.

It takes a lot to get kids involved in church, in activities, in education, in attitude, in appearance and in work.  What were we really raising today?  Was it a 3,000 pound white tarp or was it 1,200 sq. ft. of space to tell people about Jesus?  Are we spending money, staying up late, getting up early, working hard, disciplining, correcting, teaching, training or are we creating the chance to tell a child or a teen about an awesome Saviour?  Let's always do everything so that we can "minister grace to the hearer."

3.  We aren't perfect, but we are holy.

This picture I took proves it.  Look at the lower left hand side.  That's right.  In our holy tent, there is a big nasty greasy oil stain.  It's ugly, and it's going to get power washed out of there, but it's ok.  The main thing we wanted was a chance to use it for what it needs to be used for.  That tent is holy now, but there's still some things left to clean up.

So are we, and so are our children.  Holiness isn't just the way we act.  It's our condition.  Through Christ, I am holy in the eyes of God.  I must never forget that or I'll never be made into what God wants me to be.  Our kids must never forget that they are holy, sancified, justified, washed, cleansed and forgiven.  Not perfect, but holy.

If we can remember our position, it's easier to draw close to God and allow Him to work as He sees fit.  Hebrews tells us that we aren't at Sinai with Moses that couldn't be approached.  No, no, we are at the top of Zion sitting in heavenly places with Jesus Christ.  We aren't servants; we are sons....and heirs.  The grace of God must always be allowed to abound in a child's life.  Jesus has to be the hero of heroes.  Once we feel we can draw nigh to our God because of our position, He can get close enough to start power washing our oil stains.  It's too bad we never realize that we are holy...right now.  Instead, our kids miss out on a relationship with God and remain a dirty parking lot that's not getting used.

Don't focus on the flaws.  Don't point out every mistake.  Don't give up.  Don't think they've gone bad.  Just keep lifting up Jesus and reminding yourself that they have to see Him BEFORE they get those oil stains cleaned up.

Mephibosheth is just like our tent.  He was imperfect, but he still got the the best God could give him.

II Samuel 9:13

So Mephibosheth dwelt in Jerusalem: for he did eat continually at the king's table; and was lame on both his feet.

I might still be imperfect, but I'm special.  I sit and the king's table, and He's my best friend.  I guess I'm like our new tent.

The Truth About Confessing Your Sins: Part Three

Number one, we said you don't have to live in fear every time you sin. You and God are still OK.

Number two, we said that it's not you that maintains your fellowship with God. It's Jesus. Your sins are all forgiven, and He makes it permanent.

I find three things that happen to teens, and well, anyone really, once they sin not knowing the above and live in fear.

1. They stop praying all together because they feel too guilty to talk to God.
2. They continue in their sin because they could never control it.
3. They get depressed.

I don't want any of those things for you. So, when you do sin what do you do? Here's the perfect list for you.

1. Real confession that focuses on forgiveness.
We live in a society of snotty snooty snubby elitists that demand their rights. The two twenty-something socialites in Hollywood get into a tizzy over who showed up to the party with which guy celebrity, and the news of their fight is all over TMZ and The Soup. Each gets interviewed, and we find out the other one "like, totally was out of place, ya know? And, like, we are never gonna be friends ever again." In their world, forgiveness isn't a given. It's only a possibility. In Christianity it should be a given. When someone apologizes to you, it shouldn't be to beg your forgiveness. Forgiveness should be an automatic response to an apology. Remember that about God. His forgiveness is so automatic that it's retroactive so don't go begging for forgiveness.

You are confessing, not to seek forgiveness, but to admit to yourself and your pride that you were actually wrong.

In the Bible, when people confessed, they confessed as a humbling experience. They were focusing on God's forgiveness not their sin. Your confession should sound like this:

God, you're so awesome for loving someone that messes up like I do. I've been careless about my sin. I've been ____________ (insert sin here), and why would someone who has been loved so much by such a perfect God want to live that way. God, I'll humble myself to let you know that I need less of my way and more of your way. I should never have done that. Thank you so much for forgiving me. I love you.

Not so depressed and scared, huh? See, God's awesome. He's the most awesomest awesome awesome ever.

2. Submission to the Holy Spirit.
Now we get into the deep stuff. The Holy Spirit conjures up thoughts of the bogey man and ghosts. You gotta light candles and say a prayer. Nonsense. We've so muddied the water that the Holy Spirit is the most left out part of the God-head (the trinity - Father, Son and Holy Spirit). Remember this, the Father, that's God, is the One Who runs everything...God. The Son, that's Jesus Christ, is God also. He came in the form of a man to be the perfect sacrifice to pay for your sins. He's the Word of God. Then there's the Holy Spirit. He's the spooky one. No, He's really not. He's God too. They are all one God in three forms. The Holy Spirit is the person of God that came down to live inside you at salvation. See He's the one that does what Jesus would do for you except He's not here. The Holy Spirit teaches you, He gives you all the power God promised you, He helps you when you pray, He prevents you from sinning. He's like the passport that God gave you on behalf of Jesus that lets you into God's presence.

But that's only if you're led by the Holy Spirit. Being led, filled, whatever you want to call it, by the Spirit isn't a complicated task. It should sound like this:

Holy Spirit, as long as I pay attention to my will, I'm going to sin. If
you lead me, grace will prevent me from sinning again. So, right now, I submit to you. Speak to me today. Lead me. Direct my paths, my speech, my attitude and my will. Help me to hear you when you speak to me. I refuse to walk by the flesh today. I want to walk by the Spirit.

See there? Shazam! Now, you listen. You'll start to hear things. Spooky things? No. Suddenly, things will become visual. You normally would have yelled at mom, but you felt something pick at you inside, and you decided not to. You normally would have left that channel on, but for some reason you changed it when that girl came on. Wow. Suddenly, you're not in control. See, that's why the Bible compares being led by the Spirit with being drunk. You're under the influence.

Grace is so good. I didn't work for my salvation. I got it free. I don't have to work to be good. The Holy Spirit will do it for me. Teens, get this down. There isn't some great list of things you have to do to be good. All you have to do is start being led by the Holy Spirit. Good starts coming out. Does that excite you? It should.

Now, which one makes you not want to sin anymore? Being scared and depressed all the time...or the fact that God really is the most awesomest awesome awesome there ever was?

------------

One last thing. The Bible says that the Holy Spirit brings things "to remembrance". The easiest way for Him to lead you is through reading God's Word. You don't have to read the Bible and make a list of AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLL the things you have to start doing. Read it to see Jesus. He's so awesome. When you start filling your head with the Bible. It's easy for the Holy Spirit to speak to you because you know what He's talking about. "Psst. Remember that verse you read? Yea. I thought you did."

Now get off the internet. You've been on too long.

The Truth About Grace and Truth

Balance is important. You balance your family time and your work time. You balance your sugar intake and your water intake. You balance your play time and your study time. Balance is important.

Things that are the same don't need balance. Balancing your sleep with how much time you rest is not logical. Balancing your milk intake with your dairy intake wouldn't make much sense.

Two words in the Bible are often used to promote balance, and often they are used to promote balance in your discipline of children. Those two words are Grace and Truth. These two words don't describe balance, they are synonymous.

To make more sense, let me describe what we assume these words mean in our discipline.
1. Grace: Sometimes we are soft, tender and gentle.
2. Truth: Sometimes we are serious, stern and harsh.

All to often we take them to the extreme and define them like so:
1. Grace: Leniency
2. Truth: Hell-fire and brimstone

So, sometimes we are supposed to be lenient, and sometimes we are supposed to reign down fire on our kids like the wrath of God? No. Let's look at the two times in scripture Grace and Truth are mentioned together.

And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his
glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace
and truth.
John 1:14

For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth
came by Jesus Christ.
John 1:17

In these verses we see that "Grace and Truth" were in Jesus Christ and they were brought by Him to us. The truth about "Grace and Truth" is that the Truth is Grace and Grace is the Truth. They are synonymous. Jesus didn't bring some Grace to earth and some Truth and there's a balance of which one you get at certain times. Grace needs Truth, and Truth needs Grace. For you to claim that you have God's Grace (favor and blessing), you better have some Truth (proof) to verify it. For you to claim that vehicle is yours, you better have the title to prove it. Grace is God's favor and blessing, and Jesus Christ is the Truth (proof) that verifies it. His perfect life, His sacrificial death, His supernatural resurrection is the "Truth" that verifies that the "Grace" is legitimate. They go hand in hand. We can't separate it because when we do, we dilute and taint it. Grace without Truth is either leniency or salvation without assurance. Truth without Grace is condemnation and punishment.

Colossians 1:6 talks about preaching the "grace of God in truth." In II John 1:3 the author bestows "grace...in truth." Grace and Truth. Give out both at the same time in your discipline.

Let your speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man.
-Colossians 4:6

Salt does a few things. It preserves against corruption, it makes something savory and it makes something unbecoming more tasteful. Using Grace is like using salt. Sin corrupts and punishment is necessary, but correction through the eyes of Grace and Truth preserves a child, makes God and Christianity seems more savory and desirable and it makes Jesus Christ seem "tasty" enough to want. When a child does wrong, they should be corrected full of Grace and Truth.

What's the "correction speech" to give to a child?
1. Truth: What was done was wrong because...
2. Grace: I love you, and God loves you regardless.
3. Truth: I know and God knows we're all going to fail. That's why Jesus paid for our sins.
4. Grace: Just like He forgave you, I forgive you.
5. Truth: Your punishment for sin is paid, but on earth, there will always be consequences.
6. Grace: God always helps you move on after sin, and I'll help you move on from this.
7. Truth: Here's the consequence for what you did.
8. Grace: Now, that that's over, lets go get some pizza.

Every child should walk away from discipline and correction knowing two things.
1. I was wrong.
2. Mom and Dad love me.

That's salvation. You have to know your wrong (a sinner) and then see the love (sacrifice) Christ made for you. Believing you're a sinner makes you need to work for salvation, and knowing Christ died for your sins without believing in that alone again requires works. And neither is correct.

When you correct, use Grace and Truth.

The Truth About Confessing Your Sins: Part Two

So, I John 1:9 is about salvation. You don't have to be worried about forgetting a sin or God not forgiving certain ones that you forgot about. Ok, so what about when you sin? What happens and what are you supposed to do to fix it?

You can't.

1My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous;
2And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.
-I John 2:1-2

Jesus can.

You don't ever maintain your fellowship with God. Jesus does. You didn't do any work to get saved, and you can't do any work to keep yourself saved. You didn't do any work to get fellowship with God, and you can't do any work to keep fellowship with God.

Jesus does. See, He's described as a "propiation" here. A propitiation is a third party who works on behalf of the wrong-doer and meets all the requirements of the one that was wronged to calm his anger. Not only that, but he also meets all the requirements of the one that was wronged to earn favor and blessings for the one that did the wrong. That's what Jesus did for you, and John is trying to make that point. Jesus did it. Jesus did it all. Not you ever. Jesus. John says, "I'm telling you this because I want you to see how good God is so that you don't even desire to sin."

When we are saved, Jesus also becomes our Advocate with the Father. An advocate respresents you always to the judge. Jesus is the only way to the Father, and Jesus represents you always to Him on behalf of your salvation. Notice that John calls Jesus "the righteous". It's like he's saying, "Even though 'Timmy' the sinner doesn't deserve fellowship with God, Jesus the righteous does, and He earns you favor with God because of His righteousness." Isn't that awesome? Isn't God great? Isn't Jesus the best? Not only did He earn it for you, but He also keeps it!

So, when you sin, don't be afraid of losing God's love or favor or fellowship. You have an Advocate. Jesus is standing in front of God with His blood in a bason saying, "You forgave Him, here's the proof. You forgave him, here's the proof. You forgave him, here's the proof." Thank God, when I sin, I have an Advocate with the Father.

"I'm not sure, Bro. Jeremy. It says what it says. It says I have to confess them for Him to forgive me." Well, you should go back and read what I wrote again because you didn't get it. Remember, the Bible always explains and backs itself up.

I write unto you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for his name's sake.
I John 2:12

Why would John say to confess your sins to get forgiveness and then say your sins are forgiven unless they meant the same thing? Get this down.

1. All your sins are forgiven.
2. They are forgiven "for his sake" not your work's sake.

So, now you know that I John 1:9 is about salvation not fixing every sin, and your fellowship with God is not based on your actions but on Jesus' advocacy.

Awesome. So, what should I say to God when I do sin? I don't get it.

See you tomorrow.

The Truth About Confessing Your Sins: Part One

What do I do when I sin? Am I in trouble? Is God gonna "get" me?

Everybody messes up. Everybody sins. Everybody walks by flesh and lives carnally. Some do it more than others. But what are you supposed to do after that? You feel dirty. You know you did wrong. You want to fix it and make it right.

You've also been scared. You've heard, "God's not going to use you, God's mad at you, you've broken your fellowship with God, if you pray and read your Bible you can prove to God your sorry, it'll take some time obeying God before He starts believing you're serious about Him again, God can't hear your prayers when you sin." It sounds logical, but not one of those statements is actually in the Bible. None of them are true. The Bible tells us clearly that God is not a human and doesn't act like one. Don't take what you would do and assume it's what God would do.

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
-I John 1:9

You may read this and think, "Every time I sin I have to confess it, and then God will forgive me. What about the sins I forgot about? What about the times I was bad and didn't care? What if I can't remember them? What about the sins I just keep doing? What about those? He's gonna get mad?"

Really? If you read that verse like that than we have to throw out the verse that says that God hasn't given us the spirit of fear because you're living in fear. Let me show you what that verse really means. Instead of focusing on you, let's focus on Jesus. What happens when you focus on you?
1. You never feel good enough to be worthy of God.
2. You never feel truly "right with God".
3. You spend most of your time thinking about your sin.

What happens when you focus on Jesus?
1. You know Jesus made you worthy to be a friend of God.
2. You know you are right with God.
3. You spend all of your time thinking about how good God is.

Now, which sounds like a spirit of fear and which one sounds like a spirit of peace? Hmmm.

Ok, back to braking down this verse. Read chapter one. I John 1 is simply the salvation story. Verses 1-2 are describing the coming of Jesus Christ to bring salvation. Verses 3-4 tell us that through Jesus Christ "our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ". Verses 5-7 are not saying that if a saved person sins he isn't in fellowship with God. It's saying that if we don't admit that we are sinners who are in darkness and turn to the light (Jesus Christ) we don't really have fellowship with God. Anyone who walks in the light (believes in Jesus Christ for salvation) has fellowship with God. Verse 8 continues to say, "If we say that we have no sin, we decieve ourselves." And how do we get this salvation? WATCH ME NOW...

If we confess our sins (the fact that you are a sinner), he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

See, at salvation, you were forgiven ALL your sins. Yesterday's, today's and tomorrow's ... ALL. Not only that, but you also had ALL of your unrighteousness taken away. To say that every time you sin you have to get a new forgiveness and more unrighteousness taken away is to say that Jesus' blood at salvation wasn't enough! That's crazy. I John 1:9 is a salvation story. That's all. Your sins are gone. Don't try to scare yourself into depression every time you sin thinking that God is against you. No, no, no. You and God are family, you're adopted, you're His DNA, you're His son or daughter, you're an heir, you're the sibling of Jesus Christ!

"Well, Bro. Jeremy, what do we do when we sin?"

I'm glad you asked. See you tomorrow.

The Not So Distant Will of God

1And the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee; and the mother of Jesus was there.
2And both Jesus was called, and his disciples, to the marriage.
-John 2:1-2

Most teens see the "will of God" as meaning "what my career will be someday in the distant future". Someday, you'll want to know what God's will is, or someday God will reveal it to you. This faulty reasoning started somewhere very much outside the Word of God. Rarely, if ever, does God deal with His will for us years down the road. The times that He does reveal a future, He is speaking miraculously during a time His Word was not yet completed in it's written form. That's not going to happen to you. The Word of God is completed, and everything you need to know is in there.

The will of God isn't something for tomorrow. It's you and God right now. Honestly, God's not as worried about what you're going to do when your 30 as He is about having a relationship with you right now.

Two reasons teens don't find God's will:
1. Teens who care don't understand how to find it.
2. Teens who don't care, don't care because they were never introduced to the God of now.

Notice the above passage. Jesus went to a wedding. What about His great mission? Take time to go to a wedding 70 miles from home? Who's got the time? Jesus wasn't focused on what tomorrow held. Jesus did what was meant for Him today, and today's schedule held a wedding. Jesus knew that if He did today what He was supposed to do, tomorrow would put Him where he was supposed to be, doing what He was supposed to be doing.

The will of God isn't about finding, it's about being ready when it comes.

So how do I get ready for God's will?
1. Do today what you already know you're supposed to do.
2. Understand that the will of God isn't for tomorrow it's for today.
3. The will of God isn't a career in the future, it's knowing and walking with Him right now.
4. God wants to you to want Him like He wants you.
5. Submitting to the Spirit will make you begin walking and living the way God wants you to. Submit by praying to Him throughout the day and turning your will over to Him.
6. Miss out on how good God is to you, and you miss everything.

How good is God? Read some of the New Testament. Find out how much of God's goodness you've never noticed.

Do You Know What You Are?

You've done it before. You've been caught red-handed. You know you're busted. It's over. There's no possible way out of this one. You know you did it, they know you did it and you're gonna get it. Pretty scary.

You may have had that feeling when you read the Bible. It pointed something out ... something that convicted you. Uh-oh. You gulp. Am I in trouble? God seems pretty mad here, and what He's mad at ... I DO!

Maybe you haven't had that exact problem. Maybe you just live day to day feeling like less of a person. You won't admit it, but you get a little depressed. Deep down inside you might even hate yourself. I know. I have. For people your age, low self-esteem seems to be the norm. Everyone wants to put on the happy, cool face, but on the inside, you know it's a front. You feel useless, bad, wicked even. God must hate you like everyone else does (so you think). God can't use you. You're ... broken, below average. You haven't lived up to standards that you think make you worth anything.

Maybe you've read this verse.

Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery,
fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred,variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders,drunkenness, revellings, and such like ... they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
-Galatians 5:19-21

Well, what's the kingdom of God. It's salvation. It's the kingdom you live under when you get saved. WAIT! You've done at least some of those things up there. And, what about those big words? You don't even know what they are! What if you did those too? God says right there that you CAN'T INHERIT SALVATION?!!!

And what about this?

Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous,nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom ofGod.
-I Corinthians 6:9-10

Gulp. There it is again. You look at that and say, "Well, I guess I'm out. I'm some (maybe a lot) of those."

Read verse 11 of I Corinthians 6. You'll like it. Go ahead. Read.

And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified, in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.

Yea, that's right. YOU WERE, not are. You could NEVER inherit salvation! Jesus Christ gave it to you. YOU WERE, not are. YOU WERE, not are. Thank God, I WAS, but I'm not anymore! Get your mind out of the past. Get your mind out of your failures. YOU WERE! YOU WERE! YOU WERE! ... But you aren't anymore. Now, you're a child of God. Jesus took all that you were and became it for you so that today you can say, "I was that wicked man, but I'm not anymore." But, you say, I was bad just minutes ago! I still am.

Look at three points and then go play in the street.

1. You're washed.
It's all gone. Yesterday's failures, today's failures, tomorrow's failures. Everytime you fail look directly up at God and say, "Thank you, Jesus for paying for that sin." Don't get discouraged. Get excited. You've been washed clean.

2. You're sanctified.
God's moved on. He's set you apart for something great even though you don't know it yet. Every time you look down on yourself, God looks down and says, "Hey, gloomy, what are you so worried about? I forgot all that. I moved on. Catch up. I love you."

3. You're justified.
God's not only forgiven and moved on, but He also acts like it never happened in the first place. "Well, I know He forgave me, but I was just so bad (and still am sometimes) that He probably wants someone without a past." God says, "What past?" You say, "You know, with the sin." God says, "What sin?" You say, "All the junk I did! It was bad." God says, "I don't know what you're talking about. I just see Jesus' perfection all over you. You're ... well ... perfect."

I like God. He takes what I think is a useless "me" and makes it a valuable treasure.

You're no different.